Paved With Good Intentions
by Wernher von Braun
Summary: A wise man once said: "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." It could not be further from the truth. Different goals they might possess, all of them are motivated by the intentions of doing good. Thus, one couldn't help but wonder if those sympathetic in spirit are more dangerous from those with malicious intentions.


**A Guest Arrival**

When she arrived, the first thing in her mind was to give a reprimand to the idiot – or idiots, as it was often the case – who thought that calling her was a good idea. She immediately got rid of that thought as doing such a thing might cause them to lose their sanity. Or whatever remained of it since you've got to be crazy in the first place to think that calling a being from beyond was something that must be done.

As it turned out, it was not necessary.

"Seriously?" She couldn't help but let out the sheer incredulousness that she felt. "I haven't even arrived yet and all of you already out of your mind?"

They didn't answer her, for they were already lying on the floor, losing their minds. They had lost control of their bodies, drooling all over the place with the smell of urine permeating the room.

Sighing, she asked for the Little Ones to bring out the Burial Blade. After it was given, with several swings, she put them out of their misery. Looking around the room, she noticed a book located on an altar. She walked towards it and – after a bit of inspection – realized that the book was how they knew about the existence of the great beyond.

"Well, time to go back." She stated as she fixed her hat.

* * *

Once she arrived back at the Dream, she entered the Workshop and put the book that she acquired on top of the table. She was about to inspect it when she heard the door was opened.

"Good Hunter, you have returned."

She turned around to see the Doll entering the Workshop. Upon seeing her, her heart softened. The person in front of her had been someone dear to her ever since the start of her journey. A dear friend, a helpful advisor, a loving caretaker, she was all of them. There was nothing in the Cosmos that would make her willingly part away from the Doll.

"Indeed I am, Doll." She replied. "It appears that we have encounter yet again another world."

She let out a sigh before walking towards a rocking chair, letting herself fell on it.

"What is it with people poking at something they should've just leave alone?"

Hearing that, Doll merely raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, I am guilty of that. But I am _goddamn _lucky compared to the rest. Me against dozens if not hundreds if not thousands. It definitely not worth it."

Doll remained silent. Instead, she walked towards another table, where there was a tea set. She poured a cup of tea with a cube of sugar. She then walked back to the Good Hunter, offering her the drink.

"Thank you." She told her as she accepted the cup.

"What would you do now, Good Hunter?" Her best friend asked.

"The usual." She replied after taking a sip. "After investigating this book, I will go down there, learn more about the nature of the realm, and established the local Hunters to deal with the problem."

"It always confuse me." Doll tilted her head with one of her hands touching her chin. "Why do you always recruit locals to work in their home? Never bringing your experienced apprentices?"

"I already ask too much from them." Good Hunter put the empty cup on the table. "I won't give them even an atom more burden than necessary."

Once again, she let out a sigh as she used her hands to cover her face.

"If I could, I would do everything myself, leaving the people alone." She smiled, filled with sadness. "However, I must be as hand-off as possible else I'll become like the ones that I hunt."

The Good Hunter leaned back on the chair, enjoying the rocking motion that it created.

"For now, just let me rest for a bit." She stated as she covered her face with her hat. "It will be…a long journey…"

Doll put her hands together, making a praying gesture.

"May the Dream bring you solace, Good Hunter."

* * *

Once more, she descended into the realm that had called for her presence. This time, it was not at the behest of the inhabitants but of her own will.

With Chikage tied to her waist and Hunter Pistol on the holster, along with a bag, she took her first official step upon the new world.

* * *

Traveler from distant land. That was the role that she often played when she decided to take a look at the world personally. Sure, it was kind of hard to use at the place that used to be her home (or at least what she _believed _to be one), but she managed.

Speaking of which, the time might have come for her to check on her family…if only she remembered their faces and names.

"_Focus._" She shook her head. "_You've moved on from that._"

From the looks of it, she was likely either in the countryside or the wilderness. Considering that she was using a dirt road and that it was more or less well-maintained, it was likely that she could use the road to reach civilization. The later part indicated that the road was still in use.

When she was about to enter the forest, her relaxed posture became more rigid; more cautious. Too many times her experience in that kind of environment was being ambushed by hostile beings. She could understand the reason for that; bushes, trees, there were many things in the forest that could provide a concealment.

It didn't make it any less annoying.

After walking for several minutes, she raised an eyebrow, noticing something. She kept her pace, not wanting to reveal her recently-gained knowledge. Then, swiftly and without turning her head, she unsheathed Chikage and made a stabbing motion over her shoulder…

…resulting in the sword penetrating a man's throat.

Without pausing, she moved her weapon and decapitated his head. It was followed by another man screaming and more of them emerged from their hiding places; the bushes and trees that she thought earlier. She took out her Pistol and shot it at one of the attackers, obliterating his head.

"_That fragility…_" She thought as she moved towards another man. "_These people are normal. Highwaymen?_"

No matter the location nor the time, there were always people that would take advantage of travelers. Bandit, highwayman, the name might be different and there was indeed some difference but in the end, the meaning was the same; someone who took others' belongings illegally through threat of violence.

She didn't like them for obvious reason. Though admittedly, some of her apprentices were former highwaymen.

"Huh?" She suddenly stood still upon noticing that all of them were now dead. "That was fast."

She supposed that that made sense. Considering the usual types of opponent that she faced, something as fragile as normal human would be a wet paper for her. She sheathed her sword and was about to continue her journey when she heard the sound of leaves being disturbed.

Wasting no time, she took out a knife and threw it at the source. It was followed by the voice of someone screaming in pain. She walked towards him as she reloaded the Pistol. Once she was close, she was the man was trying to crawl away, knife still embedded in his left shoulder.

"Well, that's convenient." She stated as she stepped on one of his feet, stopping him. "I need some information about the land and you will be the source of them."

"F-Fuck you…"

_BANG_

"GAH! My ass…!"

"Next could be your head." She stated as she reloaded her Pistol again. "Now, answer please."

* * *

"So, let me recap: this area is part of a small duchy that – along with other states – part of a big empire that shattered several centuries ago. These states are sometimes enemy, sometimes ally, with war and peace replacing each other like season." She spoke. "If I take the road, going south, I will arrive at one of the towns. Is that all?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Thank you."

_BANG_

After she blew up his head, it was then she decided to finally continue her journey, now with more knowledgeable and a goal in mind. Still, she couldn't help but sighed upon knowing more about her location.

According to the recently-deceased, the land was currently in a period of peace. However, there were already signs of tension growing between the states.

It actually reminded her about an empire in her home realm. Long ago, it was a mighty empire. But as time progressed, it was shattered during a war that spanned the continent, becoming various states that compete with each other. All changed when one kingdom rose up and through wars, diplomacy, and politics, reunited most of the land and created the second empire.

She wondered if the same thing would happen and if she could witnessed it. It was always interesting, witnessing historical event. Discovery of new land, meeting between two civilizations, treaties that changed the very society that created them, rise of a new power; for the good or ill, witnessing them was one of few things that she enjoyed.

* * *

The man said that it would take three days for her to arrive at the town. It was likely that he put the time for one to rest during the night and taking a break into consideration as she managed to arrive after just one night. She had no need for sleep or break, though they were still nonetheless something that she still do, if she was in the mood.

Even from afar, she could see the wall that surrounded the town. Once she was close, she managed to identify the wall as being similar to the ones in her home realm centuries ago, which has been abandoned with the introduction of cannon. In most places, they were torn down but some still retained theirs due to the wall becoming iconic.

As she walked closer to the town, she noticed that there was a guard station at the gate. That wasn't strange; what was strange was the fact that the guard was armed with a spear. It was not a pike for it didn't possess enough length. She couldn't help but wonder on why the man was so poorly armed.

"State your business!" The guard spoke to her once she reached the gate.

"Traveler." She answered simply. "I am looking for a place to rest."

He nodded his head before gesturing at another guard.

"Please open your bag, ma'am." He gave the order. "Just a normal inspection."

"Of course."

They inspected her bag, which contained a book, a fountain pen, an ink bottle, a bottle of water, and two and half pieces of bread. They then inspected her, making sure that she was not carrying any contraband or something dangerous. Besides her weapons anyway, which was also being inspected.

"Everything seems to be in order." The guard stated as they returned her belongings. "Welcome to the town of Galea."

With that, she stepped her foot into the first settlement that she encountered.

* * *

After she managed to find an inn, she had also managed to confirm her suspicion regarding the realm where she currently was. If not the entirety of it, at least the part where she was. She didn't see any tall chimney, the air was relatively fresh, no little boy and girl selling newspaper, the antiquity of the locals' outfit, the lack of firearm among the guards, all of them led to one conclusion:

The locals were living in a pre-Industrial Revolution era.

It was quite a surprise when she found out about it. The realms that she had visited so far were all on the same level of technological advancement as hers, with some even surpassing it. Like how one of them had automobile replacing horse-drawn carriage and not just for the rich, but the common people as well. The same realm also began to conquer the sky, with the creation of airship and airplane.

It was a shame that she couldn't bring one to the Dream.

She couldn't help but wonder if things would be more uncomfortable from this point. Tea was once a drink exclusive to the elite until the price drop and it became available to everyone, to the point that in some countries, it became a national drink. Same thing with sugar, which was consumed along with tea as to sweeten the bitter drink. She doubted these people even know the existence of sugar beet.

The thought of spending _way more than usual _on those simple luxury goods…

She laughed at the silliness of her thought. She was supposed to be above such thought yet here she was. Then again, such a human thought might be what prevent her from becoming more like _them_.

_BONG_

She turned her head upon hearing the noise. It appeared to be coming from the back of the inn. Curious, she decided to take a look.

* * *

It seemed that no matter the era, the alley would be the same. Cold, dark, deserted, perfect place for anything to happen. She entered with her hand already on the hilt of Chikage, ready to be unleashed at a moment notice. She decided to not use the Pistol unless absolute emergency as to not attract the guards if things went south.

Not even a meter into the alley, she already noticed that there was something wrong; she could smell the blood in the air. Human blood. She unsheathed her sword and went deeper, expecting to encounter a danger. With her sense of smell, it would take her no time to find the source.

As it turned out, there was no danger at all, just a young man lying on the street, blood flowing from the wound on his stomach. The sound that she heard earlier was because the man knocked down a trash can as he fell.

She walked towards him and knelt. Just from sight alone, she could determine that it would not be long before he succumbed to his wound. The best that she could do now was to make sure that he received a proper burial. First, she would need to…

"…who…?"

She stopped her thought upon hearing his voice. She turned her attention back to him and saw that he was now staring at her, using the last of his strength to do so. She couldn't help but admire that. To keep struggling until the bitter end. If he could do that, then perhaps…

"Do you want to live?" She asked him.

"…what…?"

"Do you want to live?" She repeated her question. "I could help you. But you might – no, you _will _regret it, as many did."

"I…agree…" He gave his answer. "I…still have…some…"

"Very well."

Once those words left her mouth, the man was immediately surrounded by the Messengers.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he didn't expect the sight in front of him.

The Moon was hanging in the sky, its light letting out a mesmerizing effect. Looking around, he realized that he was no longer in the dark alley of the town. Instead, he was standing in the middle of field of white flowers.

"Welcome, youngster."

He immediately turned his head and found himself staring at a pair of red orbs; eyes that belonged to a lady in a wheelchair. Looking down a bit, he noticed that there seemed to be nothing wrong with her legs, considering that they were crossing each other.

"What…is this…place?" He muttered.

"Hmm, there's a lot of way to answer it." She replied. "Some say that this place is to rest, until one is ready to continue their journey. Some say that this place is the final ending of one's journey. For you, I guess you can say that this place is the beginning."

"The beginning…"

"Say, I do not catch your name when we met." She stated. "Mind telling it?"

"Jack. Just…Jack." He answered before realizing something. "Wait, we've met before?"

"From your perspective, it's not even a minute ago." She stood up from her chair. "It's my turn, I suppose."

The lady grabbed her tricorne and took it off before giving a bow.

"I am Rose, friend to you hunters."

* * *

**It's finally done. Took more time than I expected. **

**If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me. **

**Review, please! **


End file.
